The story of Hannah: The blind girl on Twitter

MANILA, Philippines – Hannah Mae Aldeza is 27 years old. She’s a daughter, a sister, a friend, and a hard worker. She is also blind.

Blind since birth, she has never seen the house she has lived in her whole life and she hasn’t seen the faces of her family members. Sunrises and sunsets are things she has only known in words. Hannah has learned to live with it.

More than that, she’s learned to thrive.

Hannah is a college graduate who’s currently holding a steady office job. This is not surprising for someone her age, but in a society where many blind people are still pegged as masseuses and musicians, it’s something she’s quietly proud of. She says she strives for excellence and breaks stereotypes not just for herself but so that people can see that blind people are just as capable as anyone else. She wants people to see what she sees.

Hannah still has a lot of goals she’s working to achieve. The world of her dreams is populated with independent living centers and transport services for her fellow blind people. Among her goals is to persuade people to stop using the words impaired, disabled and challenged. Her request is to be called nothing else but blind.

Her personal dreams though are simple. She dreams of the day when she can cook her own breakfast, get to work without any assistance, and go back home to call it a day.

Hannah Mae Aldeza is a blind girl who dreams.

Watch this video about Hannah below.

ASSOCIATE PRODUCER: Dindin Reyes
CAMERAMEN: Adrian Portugal, Naoki Mengua, Franz Lopez
EDITOR: Emerald Hidalgo
CONCEPT: Libay Cantor